Monday, in a secretive announcement in L.A., Microsoft announced their new product, the Surface tablet. The Surface is a touch screen tablet with a 16:9 video ratio, USB, HDMI, and MicroSD. It features the new Windows 8 OS with Metro interface. While it has been speculated for some time that Microsoft might get into the game itself, it took quite a few experts in the industry by surprise. The surprise was not that Microsoft did it, but that, at first blush, they did it so well. The Surface is a 10.6" tablet and comes in two distinct flavors: Surface RT and Surface Pro. The RT version is based on ARM architecture and is positioned to go head-to-head with the iPad and current generation Android tablets while the Pro version is based on Intel x86 architecture and is positioned to be a laptop replacement.

Specs from the official website:

Basic Surface specs

The Surface has an interesting feature stock: a cover that doubles as a keyboard. There are two types, the TouchCover and the TypeCover. The TouchCover, for RT, is a membrane style keyboard approximately 3mm thick, whereas the TypeCover, for Pro, is a more robust 5mm thick, giving it a little more travel distance. The Surface also features an integrated fold out stand. The Pro version features a stylus and a bonded screen for both touch and stylus and will ignore touch if the stylus is being used, to prevent accidental touching with the hand while writing. It seems that there are front and rear facing cameras, although that is not apparent on some information sources, and Microsoft has yet to release any information on connectivity other than to say it is wifi ready. Microsoft did not release any information on specific pricing, processor speeds, RAM, or battery life. They did not even disclose a release date. The official word was that the tablets would be priced comparable to current offerings, tablets for the RT and Ultrabooks for the Pro, and would be available around the general release time of Windows 8, which by all indications is slated for October. The current opinion is that the Surface RT will be an "app-centric" device similar to iPad and Android tablets, not running the same Windows software that the Pro version runs. This means that your current Windows programs won't run unless the developer creates a specific ARM-friendly version. The Pro version is though to be able to run regular Windows software that meets the requirements of the Metro Interface (my feeling here is that most, but not all, software that works in Windows 7 should work in Windows 8, but maybe with some visual issues). I have been keeping up with most of the popular tech blogs to keep abreast of the situation as it unfolds. Current opinion holds that Microsoft has set the bar for its OEM partners to create a quality product, trying to prevent the issues with Android where OEMs created a poor product in some instances with low specifications and thus giving Android a bad reputation. Personally, I love the idea of a Windows tablet, in either form. Although the Pro version will be beyond my means by a significant amount, I am looking forward to getting the ARM version and giving the new W

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Arthur Whitehouse - Technician: I am a Microsoft and CompTIA certified professional. I have been in the business since 2000. My main focus is on end-user functionality and providing alternatives to what mainstream users are force fed as the way it "should" be in personal computing.